Just Say Yes
by Lady Elizabeth of New York
Summary: James asks Lily a very important question but Lily's too scared to answer. However when her father has a heart attack, she realizes that how much she wants to say yes.


"You are making this up," Lily said, laughing as James and she walked in the park. It was their two year anniversary and they had just finished a romantic dinner.

"Am not," James protested. "In our fourth year, instead of asking Amelia Bones out as planned, Sirius started rambling about the worst ways to die."

"How is that possible?" Lily asked. "Sirius can talk to girls. In fact, he's the best at charming girls." James gave her an incredulous look. "Besides you, sweetie."

"Well he still claims that Marlene put a babbling charm on him," James answered. "Remus, Peter and I think he got scared. I guess it had to do with the fact that Amelia Bones was two years older and she can be intimating."

"Still, I have to remember that the next time, I talk to him," Lily said with a chuckle. Sirius liked to tease Lily, so it was nice to have something on him.

"Ah, here we go," James remarked as they got into the carriage. "Happy Anniversary, Lily."

"Happy Anniversary, James."

James kissed her gently on the lips. "I have a confession to make," James told her after they had parted.

"What's that?" Lily asked.

"There's a reason why I brought you here tonight and it wasn't just because I wanted to celebrate our anniversary," James answered. "I brought you here to ask you something that I've wanted to ask you since I was fourteen. Lily Marie Evans, light of my life, will you marry me?"

Lily's eyes widened as James pulled out a beautiful sparkling diamond ring from his pocket and held it out to her. Lily's mouth opened but no sound came out. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say. The only thing she could think of doing was running. She loved James but she wasn't ready. Was she? She didn't know. She had to get out of here.

"I-I-" Lily stuttered. "I gotta go." With that she apparated away, leaving a stunned James in the carriage all alone.

* * *

Lily found herself standing in front of Alice's door. Alice opened it and grinned when she saw Lily. "Did he do it? Did he- oh dear, what happened?" Alice asked when she realized that there were tears going down Lily's face and there was no diamond ring on her finger.

Alice ushered Lily inside and Lily collapsed on the couch. Frank came out of the kitchen. He took one look at Lily's face and said: "I'll start making the cookies." Lily giggled in spite of herself. Everyone ate Frank's cookies to feel better.

"What happened?" Alice repeated her question as she sat in a chair adjacent from the couch. "Did James and you have a fight?"

Lily shook her head. "No, he proposed and I-" Lily answered, starting to cry again. Alice waited for Lily to continue. "I just got scared. I just panicked and apparated out of there. I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't believe that he proposed."

"Lily, I realize that this is probably not going to make you feel any better but don't you love him?" Alice questioned.

"Of course I do," Lily answered.

"Then why don't you want to marry him?" Alice inquired.

"We're too young," Lily answered. "And we're in the middle of a war. And we…" Lily trailed off when she saw Alice's look. She, in her misery, had forgotten that Alice had gotten engaged two months ago. "I'm sorry, Alice. It's different for you two."

"No it's not," Alice told her firmly. "Unless you lied to me when I told you I was engaged, I think you don't care about the war or us being too young. Besides, didn't your grandparents get married at nineteen during that muggle war? Weren't they still married? Something else is stopping you from marry James? What is it?"

"I don't know," Lily sobbed, burying her face in a cushion.

"Frank, hurry up with those cookies!" Alice shouted to her fiancée as she rubbed her best friend's back.

* * *

"We are no longer friends with Lily!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Sirius," Remus warned, giving his best friend a stern look.

"No Moony, don't Sirius me. She rejected my best friend's marriage proposal," Sirius snapped crossly.

"She didn't reject me," James muttered, his head rested on his arms. "She just apparated away."

"Uh, mate, that's rejection," Peter told him gently. Sirius glared at him. "I'm not helping, am I?"

"No, you're not. I can't believe she would do this to him," Sirius growled. "After all he's been through with her. He put up with her friendship with Snape, let her insult him every day and didn't hold it against her when she would reject his dates."

"How did he put up with Snape? He would make the guy's life miserable," Remus remarked incredulously. Sirius glared at him.

"That Death Eater deserved it and you know it," Sirius said scathingly. "Now focus. I'm tired of her breaking my best friend's heart. We have to teach her a lesson. James, tomorrow, we're getting you a new girl."

"No, we're not," James said firmly. "I don't want any other girl. I only want Lily."

"Yes we are. I refuse to let you die alone and miserable-" Sirius began.

"How about we put it to a vote," Remus suggested. "Everyone in favor of James finding someone to date, raise your hand."

Sirius raised his hand but no one else did. "You are all gits!" Sirius exclaimed, storming to his bedroom.

"Are you going to be okay, James?" Peter asked worriedly, patting James' shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," James answered sadly. "I'll just sleep on Sirius' couch tonight. I don't even want to go home right now."

"She'll come around, mate. She did once and she will again," Remus assured him.

"I hope so," James said truthfully.

* * *

Lily woke up and was confused as to why she was sleeping on a couch instead of her bed. Then she remembered the events of last night. Lily closed her eyes and willed herself not to start crying again.

She had made the right decision. It was too early, they were too young and there was a war. Lily groaned. No matter how many times she said it, it still was lie.

"Morning, Lils," Alice greeted her cheerfully as she came down the stairs. "Are pancakes okay with you?"

"Not if you're cooking them," Lily answered, slightly teasing. Alice wasn't the best cook in the world.

Alice gave her a stern look. "Frank will be down in a minute. He just wanted me to check with you," Alice told her. "So how are you feeling today?"

"Upset with myself," Lily replied, holding her head with her hand. "My grandparents' marriage lasted thirty years but they could be the exception not the rule. And look at your parents, Alice and Marlene's parents. They had horrible marriages that ended in bitter divorces. I can't go through that with James. I love him too much."

"First of all, Marlene's dad cheated on her mum and second of all, my parents get along even though they're divorced," Alice remarked.

"I don't know what to do," Lily said softly. "I'm scared that one day, James will wake up and want someone other than the girl he had a crush on for years."

"Hey Lily, an owl just came for you," Frank told her, walking down the stairs and handing Lily a letter.

Lily opened the envelope and read it's contents and gasped.

"What happened?" Alice asked worriedly.

"My dad had a heart attack," Lily cried. "I have to go to his house now."

* * *

James heard a ringing sound as he walked through the door of Lily and his flat. James furrowed his eyebrows in confusion until he spotted the muggle contraption, Lily had bought when they first moved in.

James picked it up, struggling to remember how to use the telephone.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Who's this?" Petunia asked haughtily.

James rolled his eyes. "Hello Petunia," he greeted her tiredly. "It's James, Lily's boyfriend. We met a couple of months ago."

"Oh right," Petunia said nonchalantly. "I'm looking for Lily."

"She's not here," James told her coolly.

"Well when you see her, tell her that our father had a heart attack," Petunia informed him. James went pale. He knew how close Lily was to her father. "I sent her a letter with an… owl but I don't know how fast you lot gets your post."

"I'll be sure to tell her. Bye Petunia," James said firmly, quickly hanging up the phone before Petunia could start ranting about wizards and witches. Then he raced out of the house to find Lily.

* * *

The next day Lily found herself in the same house as her sister, her sister's husband and her recovering father. It had been one hell of a night last night. Her father wouldn't stop complaining about how he didn't need to stay in bed all day and how he hated the healthy food he was eating.

Petunia and Vernon wouldn't stop making snide little comments about Lily using magic.

"Vernon, dear, can you help me wash the dishes?" Petunia asked her husband sweetly.

"Not now, Pet, I'm watching football," Vernon said dismissively.

"Oh all right, dear," Petunia said. "Come Lily, let's not disturb Vernon when he's so busy." She seemed proud of him, Lily had no idea why.

Lily wanted to remind Petunia how she criticized James for being so lazy for sitting around and listening to a Quidditch match. But she decided that she was too emotionally drained to start arguing.

When they went into the kitchen, they were surprised to see that James was cleaning the dishes.

"What are you doing here?" Petunia asked crossly.

Lily, on the other hand, had never been happier to see him.

"Well I washed the dishes, I also bought some food your dad likes so when he recovers he won't have to suffer with all that healthy food but I also bought him healthy food just in case he needs it and I bought him a small television to put in his room in case he gets bored up there," James answered with a charming smile.

Petunia glared at him but couldn't find anything wrong with that, so she just left. Lily ran and hugged James.

"I'm so happy to see you, I love you so much," she whispered in his ear.

"I love you too, honey," James told her happily.

"No, really. Vernon is Petunia's husband but all he does is sit on his bum all day, drinking beer and watching TV and bragging about his job," Lily told him. "But you, even though, I didn't accept you proposal, you did all these things to make me happy and I can't imagine my life without you. So James Harold Potter, light of my life," Lily got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

James gaped at her, staring at her with utter disbelief. He then pulled her up and kissed her. "Yes," he murmured against her lips. "I will marry you. But when we tell this story to our friends and kids, promise me you won't tell them that you gave the better proposal."

Lily laughed. "I promise. I love you, Mr. James Evans." James gave her a look. "What? I proposed so technically, you're supposed to take my name."

"That's so not how it works," James said firmly.


End file.
